This was a very satisfying and enjoyable story that transported me to West Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains. I expected this to be a bit darker than it was, and was pleasantly surprised to find it not quite so gritty. Many times while reading I had to remind myself that this was fiction, not a memoir, that's how real the story and Wren felt. If you like The Glass Castle or Sugar Run you'll like this.

I’m judging a 2020 fiction contest. It’d be generous to call what I’m doing upon my first cursory glance—reading. I also don’t take this task lightly. As a fellow writer and lover of words and books, I took this position—in hopes of being a good literary citizen. My heart aches for all the writers who have a debut at this time. What I can share now is the thing that held my attention and got this book from the perspective pile into the read further pile.

For me it was the prose... this is from the beginning but it got me right away “Beyond these hills my people are known for the kick in their liquor and the poverty in their hearts. Overdoses, opioids, unemployment. Folks prefer us this way-dumb-mouthed with yellow teeth and cigarettes, dumb-minded with carboys of whiskey and broken-backed Bibles. But that's not the real story. Here's what hides behind the beauty line along West Virginia's highways: a fear that God has forgotten us. We live in the wasteland that coal has built, where trains eat miles of track. Our men slip serpents through their fingers on Sunday mornings and pray for God to show Himself while our wives wash their husbands' underpants. Here's what hides behind my beauty line: My father wasn't just one of these men. He was the best.”

This was a beautifully written novel with some tough moments. Wren lives with her parents in the mountains, isolated from most of society, where her father is a preacher that tames snakes. An early accident involving her mother's best friend prompts a string of tragedies, and offers Wren more insight into the lives of her parents when they were teenagers. I loved Amy Jo Burns's writing and the characters. The plot is fairly bleak, and all of the characters face many challenges, particularly the women. For those that enjoy vivid settings and coming-of-age stories, "Shiner" is a great choice.

Writing with Pat Conroy levels of beauty and dysfunction, Amy Jo Burns brings to life an Appalachia that contains the elements you know us for (coal, pharmaceuticals, poverty, snake handling) but transcends them by crafting characters so lovely and raw they take your breath away. I can't do it more justice than to say you need this one on your shelf, especially if you love the hills and hollows of Appalachia or want a better understanding of the region. Here is an excerpt:


“It takes no bravery to work a miracle,” she’d say, digging potatoes from her garden’s brittle earth. “What takes bravery is when there’s no miracle at all.” My father couldn’t fathom a life without miracles, not when he saw evidence of them every day in the mirror. He told me God wanted him to see the world in two separate realms. The dark eye, as he called it, saw the fallen earth as it was, and the blighted eye saw the spirit world."

I loved this book SO much. It was the perfect length, the writing was impeccable, and I was deeply invested in Wren. It is rare to read a book that I think I could recommend to most people, but Shiner is one of them.

A beautiful story about growing up in West Virginia, SHINER is a wallop of a book: short, sour, and vivid. Wren, our 15 year old protagonist, is the daughter of a preacher and snake charmer, Briar, who is as unknowable as her mysterious mother Ruby. They live isolated from the rest of the modern world in the Appalachian mountains close to Ruby's best friend Ivy, who also has secrets of her own. The story moves fast, and as tragedy strikes and we meet the moonshiner Flynn, we are whipped back and forth through time to learn more about these characters and how they all play a big part in the story of their lives and, along the way, Rubys life.

I loved how the story unravelled and secrets came to light. This made the book hard to put down and I didn't find it slow moving at all, by the end. It's heartbreaking and rough, but it's also about hope and finding your way as a girl, and woman, in a small southern town. It's about faith and miracles, and learning that you usually can't trust in miracles at all. Burns' writing is lyrical and a joy to read, I can't wait to see more from her in the future.

A beautifully well-written story about isolation and living the life she thought she wanted to live, until one day she opens her eyes. I love books about small towns, this one had family drama about a controlling father.

I loved this book. Thank you for the chance to read this for my honest review.

This book is a treasure. The West Virginia landscape sets a harsh, unforgiving backdrop for this multigenerational tale of survival, love, betrayal and loss. The book is narrated by different characters in various sections and I must say I was surprised by whose voice we heard from first after Wren's. It's interesting whose voice tells the story--and whose is markedly absent. Though some may argue Shiner focuses on a certain hillbilly stereotype of Appalachia (snake handling, moonshine) it never feels that those stereotypes are used exploitively. Read this book, tell your friends to read this book. I am haunted by the story of Ruby, Wren & Ivy.

This book was very interesting and thought provoking! I would recommend it for those who enjoy coming of age novels. The location was in deep Appalachia.

Shiner was not what I expected, but it was even better. Burns crafted a vivid inner life for her main characters, full of realistic turmoil and suffering. It broke my heart in the best way. The story is told masterfully and I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the father's "ministry."

A well written coming of age novel about life as "mountain people" in deep Appalachia. I enjoyed the book, but being from Appalachia myself, it felt like the view on Appalachian people was a bit narrow (snake handling religious zealots, moonshine runners, creek baptisms, poverty, etc.). It didn't feel offensive...because all these types of folks do exist, and in the context of the story it made sense, but I found myself wondering if readers would think they know what Appalachia is about after having read this. I hope not. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing an advance copy for review.

I thought this was a good read. I thought it had a lot of potential but was a little slow in some parts. The writing is good, and it is pretty interesting from the beginning.


I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A bit slow-paced, but a good view of life in the rural stretches of the country. The introduction is easy to grab you in and keep you hooked.